Has anyone run a successful series of Toon? If so got any tips, things to watch for and avoid, insights into how to keep the game moving fast like a cartoon, etc.? I'm thinking about trying Toon for 3 or 4 players. I've only played it once or twice back when it was relatively new.
If not Toon, then Ghostbusters...
I've run it several times, a few times as a series for the same characters. I'd suggest starting with a "short", follow with a more involved "short", and then do a "feature". This will let players get the main idea quickly, reinforce it immediately in the second short, and then go full blast in the feature. For the first short, hand out pregens. If players want to make their own characters, do it for the second short, and then carry them forward.
In my experience, 4 to 5 players works better, because you need at least 2 or 3 zany ones for it to "go," but it doesn't hurt to have 1 or 2 that are a bit more cautious or reserved as foils. However, with the right players, any number between 2 and 8 works fine. Just be aware that the dynamics change radically with players that get into it. With 2 zany and 1 reserved, it will work fine. With 3 zany or 1 or less zany, you are going to have to do more work. You must keep things moving, and this can be a chore if your players are dragging or all of them are running around like Bugs on speed.
Beyond having some pregens and understanding the basic flow, the best preparation you can possibly do beforehand is to watch some cartoons, preferably classic Looney Tunes or Tom and Jerry.
I agree here. The type of player can be a huge factor. Do you have Screwball Squirrel, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny or Porky Pig as a scale of zany to subdued.
Its alot like GMing Paranoia. The more creative and wack-o the players the wilder its going to get and probably the more you'll have to cover the unexpected.
The main thing to do is have a scenario to drop them into. some sort of goal howerver simple. Take a look at the various adventures that Toon presented for some examples.
Toon is a one shot game only, for me, just like Paranoia. Creative players may attempt to try to push them towards something more campaign based, but from my experience they just lose something about them - quite possibly being the anarchic, anything-could-happen-but-it-doesn't-matter tone of the comedy. The comedy is situational.
Ghostbusters, on the other hand is perfectly set up for long term campaigning. You set up a franchise as a business to catch ghosts and deal with other weird phenomena. The comedy, true to the movies, is character based rather than situational so it actually works best in long term campaigns.
Don't let my old friend Troy play, he can really do cartoon voices and everyone wants him to GM but his only other interest is sports to it'll be Spaceball the campaign every single time but everyone wants him to GM because he can do Bugs and Daffy and Elmerfudd just about as well as Mel Blanc.
Thanks for the input. Definitely the characters would veer toward the nutsy squirrel end of the spectrum. Any novel ideas for cartoon animal species ? I was thinking dodos would be good since the only one I know is from the fairly obscure "Frog and Dodo" comics DC published 50 years ago.
Quote from: David Johansen;991764Don't let my old friend Troy play, he can really do cartoon voices and everyone wants him to GM but his only other interest is sports to it'll be Spaceball the campaign every single time but everyone wants him to GM because he can do Bugs and Daffy and Elmerfudd just about as well as Mel Blanc.
Troy asked to get in on it but I laughed in his face and showed him the door after telling him what you said.
Aardvark. Just saying it will make people laugh, and it's easy to come up with a voice that will fit, such as something harsh and vaguely Germanic.
Elephants can be fun, though they have been done. Just don't let the player name it "Tiny".
Bobcat. Not a klutz and a doofus like the usual cat character. But has an inferiority complex compared to other cartoon cats due to being short.
A suave, older alligator wearing reading glasses that droop way down its snout, so that it is constantly peering over them. Get the player some "granny glasses" that they can sit on the end of their nose.
Imagine Toon played Pogo style?
Quote from: Voros;992210Imagine Toon played Pogo style?
Walt Kelly's?
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Is there any other? So clever though it may be too difficult to pull off.
Well, there is [ATTACH=CONFIG]1616[/ATTACH]
How about using Toon to play Pixar movies? That could be good for the little ones.
Quote from: Voros;992954How about using Toon to play Pixar movies? That could be good for the little ones.
Funny thing is my kids like
Cars but not much else from Pixar. And I've only seen a few minutes of any of them except
The Impossibles , which I didn't expect to like. It was pretty good, though, although I didn't get why the Human Torch was changed to a Flash knockoff when the rest of the Fantastic Four stayed pretty much the same.;)
Ratatouille is awesome I think.
Quote from: Dumarest;991696Has anyone run a successful series of Toon? If so got any tips, things to watch for and avoid, insights into how to keep the game moving fast like a cartoon, etc.? I'm thinking about trying Toon for 3 or 4 players. I've only played it once or twice back when it was relatively new.
If not Toon, then Ghostbusters...
I've only played Toon as conventions and have always enjoyed playing.
Toon looks, to me, to be a cut-down equivalent of something like HeroQuest, you have skills/abilities/powers that you can use in a very freeform way.
So, it should be usable in a campaign. You just have to maintain the level of silliness throughout, which might be the biggest challenge.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell;992013Aardvark.
Never hurt anyone.
Quote from: soltakss;993148Never hurt anyone.
Never read
Cerebus?
Quote from: soltakss;993147I've only played Toon as conventions and have always enjoyed playing.
Toon looks, to me, to be a cut-down equivalent of something like HeroQuest, you have skills/abilities/powers that you can use in a very freeform way.
So, it should be usable in a campaign. You just have to maintain the level of silliness throughout, which might be the biggest challenge.
Actually for the people I usually play with that is the least of my concerns. Even when they play things straight it ends up being hysterically funny due to terrible oversights and poor planning. I figure with cartoon animals it would seem even more natural that they forget to use the right length fuse on a stick of dynamite or sever the rope bridge they need to escape later....
I think the hardest part of games like Toon is people actively trying to be ha-ha funny and doing stupid things just because they're stupid. That's pretty much never funny.
We're trying to avoid cliche cartoon types like rabbits and ducks, for the most part, unless there is a good clever idea for it.
So once characters are made up and some scenarios are thought up, I think it ought to work out okay.
Nope, never ran it.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell;991699I've run it several times, a few times as a series for the same characters.
Coincidentally, I played half a game with a guy named Steve Mitchell in college in Alabama (University of Montevallo).
I think I was tired and went to bed- I just couldn't get 'zany' enough.
Quote from: Redforce;996910Coincidentally, I played half a game with a guy named Steve Mitchell in college in Alabama (University of Montevallo).
I think I was tired and went to bed- I just couldn't get 'zany' enough.
That was probably me. Circa 1986?
Quote from: Steven Mitchell;996929That was probably me. Circa 1986?
Yes. We also played Champions, Fantasy Hero, and Boot Hill a couple of times. My real initials are the same as my username, which was also my Champions character, so I know you can figure out which one of the guys I am.
My younger brother also hung out and played with us.
Quote from: Redforce;996942Yes. We also played Champions, Fantasy Hero, and Boot Hill a couple of times. My real initials are the same as my username, which was also my Champions character, so I know you can figure out which one of the guys I am.
My younger brother also hung out and played with us.
Long time, no see!
Did he ever get an alarm clock that he couldn't sleep through? I still remember waking him up for his finals by banging so hard on the door that the whole dorm was up. :)
Edit: Sorry for the derail on the topic. Took the reunion to PM.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell;996947Long time, no see!
Did he ever get an alarm clock that he couldn't sleep through? I still remember waking him up for his finals by banging so hard on the door that the whole dorm was up. :)
Nice to hear from you too! You're the only one I have gotten in contact with since then. Have you heard from any of the rest of the guys?
The answer is, no he did NOT. He still sleeps so sound you could fire a cannon right by his head and he would keep snoozing.
If you want to talk more, PM me and we can arrange something.
Quote from: Redforce;996949Nice to hear from you too! You're the only one I have gotten in contact with since then. Have you heard from any of the rest of the guys?
The answer is, no he did NOT. He still sleeps so sound you could fire a cannon right by his head and he would keep snoozing.
If you want to talk more, PM me and we can arrange something.
Welcome to theRPGsite!
Quote from: RPGPundit;997298Welcome to theRPGsite!
Thanks! I joined mostly because I went to college with Steven and we had a lot of good times together gaming, but it seems like a pretty cool place, so I think I'll hang around.
Quote from: Redforce;997345Thanks! I joined mostly because I went to college with Steven and we had a lot of good times together gaming, but it seems like a pretty cool place, so I think I'll hang around.
Hope you do. Lots of good conversation to be had.
Quote from: Dumarest;993108Funny thing is my kids like Cars but not much else from Pixar. And I've only seen a few minutes of any of them except The Impossibles , which I didn't expect to like. It was pretty good, though, although I didn't get why the Human Torch was changed to a Flash knockoff when the rest of the Fantastic Four stayed pretty much the same.;)
Just replace Fire with Lightning, and it's kinda the same...
You guys should get a Toon game going.